Mold for welding rails and the like



April 14, 1925. 1,533,803

F. N. KEITHLEY MOLD FOR WELDING RAILS AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. '7. 1923 33n hi/ Sam 0 1:

Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK N. KEITHLEY, OF BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO METAL & THER- MI'I. CORPORATION, OF CHROME, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

.moLn FOR WELDING RAILS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed January 17, 1923. Serial No. 613,194.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, FRANK N. KEITHLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Burlingame, in the county of San Mateo and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Molds for 'Welding Rails and the like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in molds for welding the ends of rails and the like by means of superheated molten metal, such as thermit steel, or superheated steel produced in the electric furnace, the object of the invention being to provide a mold with an arrangement'of pouring ates that will ensure the distribution of t 1e superheated metal to the mold cavity adjacent opposite sides of the rails, more particularly the opposite sides of the head sections. As heretofore practiced, it has been customary to provide molds of this character with a single pouring gate so that the rail sections adjacent the gate. were unduly heated and. the molten metal flowing toward the sections remote from the gate was unduly chilled, which resulted in a defective and unsatisfactory joint. The present invention overcomes the objections to the former typesof mold by providing a mold with a basin or reservoir on its topto receive the superheated moltcn metal, and two pouring gates connecting the bottom of the basin w th the mold cavity, the gates being so positioned as to deliver sep-arate'streams-of the molten metal into the mold cavity adjacent opposite sides of the head section of the rail, so that the two streams of hot unchilled metal pass directly to both sides of the rail heads and eiiect a thoroughly sound'weld at these points with a minimum use of molten metal.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the ends of two girder rails with a mold embodyingmy invention applied thereto, the section being taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a sectiontaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mold and rail ends.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the mold,

the corresponding portions of the s which is made of sand or other refractory material, adapted to be placed about the adjacent ends of the rails A, B, which are of the girder type, and arranged with the ends of the rails separated by an intervening vertical space 10. The upper portion of the mold 1 is provided with a recess 2 constituting a basin or reservoir into which the these gates through channels 5, 5, which serve as runners through which the molten metal flows simultaneously to the opposite gates. The gate 3 is conveniently located in vertical alignment with the space 10 between the rail ends, and above the lip seetion or the girder rail, so that the metal enterin by way of said gate 3 will pass downward between the ends of the rails through sections 11 and 12 of the mold cavity and set tle quietly in the bottomof the latter in the space 13 surrounding the bases of the rail ends. The pouring gate 4 is preferably located above the outside edges of the rail ends, and in alignment with the space 10, so that the first portions of the pour entering by gate 4 pass downward through sections 14 and 15 of the mold cavity and join ur entering by gate 3 at the bottom l of the mold cavity. As the molten metal rises in the mold cavity, the successive increments supplied simultaneously by the gates 3 and 4 pass directly to their ultimate positions in the cast joint without being forced'to flow or wash across the faces of the rail ends. In this way no ortion of the molten-metal is unduly chill The advantage of this arrangement will be manifest when it is considered that, according to the customary practice, all of the hot molten steel entering through a single pouring gate located at one side of the rail head results in an excessive melting of the rails adjacent the point of entrance, and a consequent undue cooling or chilling of the first portions of the pour of the molten metal. Furthermore, according to the old practice, the last portion of the molten metal entering the mold by a. single gate was caused to flow completely across and between the rail heads, so that the part of the molten metal which finall reposed adjacent the remote section of t e rail head was unduly cooled and chilled, with a resultant weak or defective joint due to a non-uniform welding action and irregular expansion and contraction. To partially overcome this diflicult it was found necessary touse an excess 0 molten metal, which was largely Wasted. All of these difficulties are overcome by the present method.

While my im roved mold is here shown as applied to t e welding of rails of the girder type only, it will be understood that it is e ually eflective in producing sound and satisfactory Welds between the ends of T-rails and other similar metallic shapes of irregular cross-section.

What I claim is:

1. Means for welding rails and the like by means of superheated fluid metal, comprising a mold of refractory material having a oint defining cavity surrounding the rail ends, a basin in the top of the mold, and spaced pouring gates connectin the bottom of the basin with the top of sai cav- I? to direct the entering metal to both sides 0 the rails simultaneously.

2. Means for welding rails and the like by means of superheated fluid metal, eomprisin a mold of refractory material havmg a c nt defining cavity surroundin the rail ends, a basin in the top of the mo (1, a pouring gate connecting the basin with the mold cavity adjacent the gauge side of the rails, and a second gate connecting the basin and the cavity adjacent the opposite side of the rails; whereby the molten metal will be caused to flow to both sides of the rail simultaneously.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature."

F. N. KEITH EY. 

